Okay, first off, review week has been somewhat of a misnomer. I had plans to present a different game review each day, and as anyone might have noticed, there was no update yesterday, due to various reasons, plus the game that I want to write about next requires a bit more playtime to be perfectly honest. But now that I’m a bit under the weather, thanks to partying a bit too hard last night (well that and I’m still suffering from bronchitis, so I should have really taken it easy), I at least have some additional playtime as I rest and recoup (though I am seeing Indiana Jones 4 later this evening).
Back In… White?
Anyway, yesterday I got the chance to check Rock Band for the Wii, which comes out mid-June I think. First off, it’s basically the same exact package that came out for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PS2… well, it’s mostly like the PlayStation 2 edition, which I’ll explain in just one second. But all the songs that come with those retail versions are present, plus five additional songs. You also have the same wireless guitars, drums, and microphone. Everything is identical to before, except the drums are white, to match the Wii.
So going in, I was curious how the guitars were going to be. I totally love the look of the GH3′s axes… for the 360, PS3, and PS2. But the Wii’s all white styling, with the stupid door for the Wii-mote up front, has always looked like an eyesore to me. Thank God the Wii Rock Band guitars are no nonsense; it was explained that since there’s no motion-sensitive moves, so to incorporate the remote would have been pointless.
As for the game itself, graphics-wise, it’s more or less the PS2 version, Meaning, the performers you see playing along to the music are all rendered before-hand, and presented as FMV, whereas the 360 and PS3 editions have your band in real-time, allowing for dynamic changes to their demeanor, depending on your performance. The reason? The Wii… much like the PS2 I’m afraid… just does not having the processing power to handle all the inputs as well as the eye candy. Which will piss off hardcore gamers, to be sure, but most folks will not give two shits. I mean, when you’re playing the game, you’re more than likely too busy to notice what’s going on in the background.
When I asked how additional tracks will work, since one can easily download new songs via XBL or PSN, and the Wii… just doesn’t have that infrastructure in place, it was explained that several options were being considered. The plan right now is to present expansion discs, though other media is being considered, such as SD cards. But, given the slow as hell transfer rates for SD cards, unless they utilize the much faster (and much more expansive) high speed variants, it’s almost certain that additional songs via disc will be the only way to go. Given the limited size of the hard drive on the Wii, you can all but guarantee that downloading new content is not an option.
I got the chance to play a few tracks, and not surprisingly, I totally sucked with the guitar. I’m not the best Guitar Hero player in the world, mind you, but I’ve gotten to the point where I’m “okay.” Though I’m pretty sure any Rock Band player can already tell you that it’s not the same thing; my timing was just way off. I guess GH is a lot more forgiving? But like the last time I played RB, I totally kicked ass on the drums. Mind you, I played it safe by going easy, instead of doing medium on an axe, but I would like to think that 151 notes in a row is not bad for a dude’s second time only playing.
REVIEW: F-Zero The Movie
I also saw Speed Racer yesterday. Don’t what compelled me exactly… after-all, the general consensus has been that it totally bites, plus I TOTALLY hate the Wachowski brothers. But a part of me simply needed to see the live-action adaptation of one of my favorite cartoons as a kid (so that’s one reason right there), and as it was pointed out at movie night, it did appear to be a big screen version of F-Zero.
And dear God… I was completely blown away. Seriously. While I feel weird to call it the movie of the year… I kinda need to? 24 hours later and I am still in total awe of how incredible Speed Racer was. Many have tried to fuse traditional Western cinema with Eastern animu bullshit, but no one has approached the territory that Speed Racer boldly traverses. I know I’m making a pretty bold (as well as ridiculously stupid) statement, but you can quote me on this… as much as the film is misunderstood and maligned today, I bet you cold hard cash that in a few years time, Speed Racer the movie will be viewed as a work of genius, one that was way ahead of its time. At the very least, I can see this film being a future cult classic, with a very loyal legion of devotees.
I almost want to state “well, its not really a good movie per say, just an awesomely bad film” but that would be a total cop out. No sorry, I honestly think its a great piece of cinema. Though it is also no knock to identify the flick as a live-action cartoon, pure and simple, from top to bottom (especially since it’s based on one, duh). Speed Racer tries to do the same thing that Dick Tracy did in 1990, which attempted to emulate the 4 color strip scheme, with having everything painted in bold, rich primary colors, but the execution is simply greater and more effective this time around, thanks in large part due to the fancy (and completely mesmerizing special effects at play). Never before the term eye-candy has been so grossly appropriate.
And regarding the original cartoon, those who fondly remember and loved the show will have their minds blown by the degrees to which the film pays homage to the source material. The cast for example is superb. They got Race down, as well as Trixie, Pops… fuck, even Inspector Detector! I knew things were gonna be awesome when I heard that Chim-Chim was being portrayed with a real monkey. Speaking of, I was also impressed by the all the kids in the movie, like the one playing Spritle; none of them were annoying! Well, I would imagine that some might find the kid and his monkey pal’s antics annoying, but they were dead-on true to the cartoon, so I can’t complain. Though the real treat was the appearance of K-pop superstar and heartthrob Rain, who I was already a big fan of from I’m A Cyborg But That’s Okay. It’s also all the little things, such as the use of classic sound effects from the show that make Speed Racer, SPEED RACER!
Oh, and I guess I should mention the action. The racing sequences, to borrow a term from Katie, were totally sick. I can’t think of a single film that embodied the thrill and excitement of racing in a very real manner, despite how over the top it all was. Everything felt very speed racer… but also very F-Zero, primarily X and GX, with vehicles doing all sorts of crazy spins to knock each other off the road. I also thank God that I saw this movie on an IMAX screen. Everything gets so bat-shit insane as things progresses that, by the end, and not to give anything away, but it’s pretty akin to the end of 2001, if that can be believed.
Speaking of the classics, the thing is, one particular staple of American cinema is the story of some kid that’s brilliant at a particular sport, but is not a superstar due to various reasons, and struggles to be acknowledged as the best of the best among his or her peers. Issues related to family or class invariably gets in the way, and also at a certain point, said prodigy becomes disillusioned by what the point of it all is. Well, Speed Racer is much like Rocky, though with the added ultra bright colors and infusion of animu, which of course makes it similar (and more relatable) in my book. And perhaps I’m easily impressed, but I actually found the emotional core to be rather genuine… at least as much as any other cheese-ball sports flick that goes for the heart-strings. But yeah, both Susan Sarandon and John Goodman do great jobs as very real parents in a cartoon world.
So yeah, much like Rez HD will be the reason why I should get into HD gaming, the inevitable Blu-ray release of Speed Racer will be reason to build a home theater. I’m pretty sure that the home video release will be the fave disc that folks at Best Buy use to show off the display models.
Reaching The Right Audience
Immediately after the film, I had some time to kill before meeting up with Mike and Joe (Salina). The original plan for last night was to either take another stab at the podcast or do some boxing, but since Carlos was once again back in town, Mike and I decided to hold those plans off and join up with him and and Joe. But before that, I had to go game hunting, or a review actually, and not for this site but someone else’s. And… as is often the case, hunting down a game in New York City, one that’s not super well know, it was quite the task. Not to get into specifics and naming names, but I will say that this game was possibly already out, but I wasn’t 100% certain, hence the greater part of the hunt: the seeking out of facts. The thing is, I tried contacting the publisher twice already for a review copy, but no dice. And because it’s so under the radar, it was impossible to know what the situation was from other sources.
I actually went through a somewhat similar situation recently regarding another game and another publisher, one that had already come out by that point, yet I still really wanted to feature it for my own site. In that case… and again, not to call anyone out… I was given the snub for not being some big name in the world of gaming news and reviews. Truth is, reviews for this game were already available via other outlets, which had generally given very poor scores, due to at least some of them not “getting” the game. It was clearly not their cup of tea, and is often the case in such a situation, the reviewer felt it necessary to needlessly rip into the title. I tried explaining my case that this particular game’s genre is actually something I’m into, as our my readers, and therefore the game would stand getting a fairer shake when it came down to passing judgment. But the person I spoke too didn’t see it that way.
Now here’s the thing: I know small companies have limited budgets, and therefore can’t afford to pass along free copies to everyone and their moms, so therefore they have to be selective. Makes total sense. But if I was a PR guy and I had to choose between giving a review copy to either a big name publication that will more than likely not give it proper attention, due to the fact that it’s simply not in line with what their readers are into, which also means that the review will probably not service the game the way it should, though more importantly, the audience that said game is intended for more than likely could give two shits with what the publication has to say anyway… or, an outlet that, while not nearly as well known, would do a better job of approaching the game, and more importantly has readers who are actually interested in what said game is like… can you guess which one I would choose? How about you?
Okay /rant.
What, No Duran Duran?
Anyway, after I went game hunting, I swung by Grassroots to meet up with Mike and Joe, and not too long afterwards, Carlos showed up (as did Katie, but for just a few minutes; she was meeting a friend for dinner at Kenka, just across the street). Cuz most of us were hungry, we then got falafels next door, and since some of us were still hungry afterwards, we then swung by the pomme frites place. Carlos next expressed interest in getting some sushi, so we went to a joint I had been before in the neighborhood, which is when Dave showed up. After Mike had to head home, the rest of us ended up going to some dive joint in Chinatown, where Dave’s girl Mallory was at with some friends.
The place had karaoke, with just a dollar per song, which is not such a bad deal. But that’s where the highlights end; the beer was way overpriced, the crowd was pretty annoying, and worst of all, the song selection sucked dick. It was a struggle to find anything to sing (or scream) to, hence why I had to do We Didn’t Start The Fire. Dave and Joe ended up belting a few tunes together, and that was pretty awesome (oh btw, click here for free porn). So overall, we were the best things to happen to the joint, all night.
I made my exit when, and this seems to happen to me with some degree of frequency, some dumb drunk women got pissed at me for not giving them the proper amount (or kind) of applause. Basically, these three bitches who all looked as if they worked in some high class law-firm or something and are probably pulling 500k a year each, plus were probably each 25 but looked to be 35, due to following the fashion advice of women’s rags, and are all probably really excited for the Sex In The City movie coming out, had just done Like A Virgin, and I noticed that in the wacky video that accompanied the tune (anyone whose been in a karaoke joint is perhaps well aware of the strange footage that Asian like to affix to American songs) featured an image that could somewhat be described as racist? So I made the comment, and gave a condensing hand-clap for said racist imagery, which the women thought was for them. I tried explaining myself, but they were pissed and would not have any of it, and then when I went “whatever”, they all went “WHATEVER!” as dumb bitches are want to do. So yeah, what a cap to the night.
Actually, afterwards, Joe, Carlos, and myself decided to swing by the Chinatown arcade for a quick game of Rumble Fish, but it was closed. Mind you, it was 1:30 in the morning, but the city that never sleeps? Ha.
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